


Just Sweet

by northofthehouse



Series: Just Sweet Universe [1]
Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Dessert & Sweets, Fluff, Light-Hearted, M/M, Multi, Romance, bubble tea
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-22
Updated: 2020-03-22
Packaged: 2021-03-01 02:54:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 8,268
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23257999
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/northofthehouse/pseuds/northofthehouse
Summary: Sehun is addicted to bubble tea and Yixing knows a shop that sells some. Luhan happens to work at Just Sweet, Kyungsoo is his coworker, and Jongin is Sehun's best friend who's just along for the ride.
Relationships: Do Kyungsoo | D.O/Kim Jongin | Kai, Huang Zi Tao | Z.Tao/Wu Yi Fan | Kris, Lu Han/Oh Sehun
Series: Just Sweet Universe [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1672336
Kudos: 18





	1. Caramel Milk Tea w/Tapioca Bubbles

**Author's Note:**

> Crossposted on AFF. (Possibly) Also a repeat post to AO3 from my previously orphaned account (I don't remember what I posted and what I didn't). Not plagiary!

If anyone asked, Oh Sehun would say that the reason he so often frequented _Just Sweet_ was because of the bubble tea. Not because of the cute, deer-like guy who usually worked there on weekday afternoons (during which time Sehun coincidentally didn't have class).

Sehun's friends, however, might say otherwise. Kim Jongin in particular had known Sehun since the two of them were in diapers and he could tell when his friend was in denial. Of course, Sehun had always said he was straight--Jongin and everyone else had believed him--but Jongin also knew his friend better than Sehun knew himself.

And Jongin _knew_ Sehun didn't just like the bubble tea.

The two friends had just started attending university in Seoul, and it was about that same time that Sehun discovered the Chinese drink. Jongin, who was a dance major, had dragged Sehun along to his various orientation activities and there the two met Yixing. He was from China, had ordered bubble tea as cheap catering for a welcome event, and Sehun had been hooked ever since.

He'd pestered Yixing for weeks afterward to be a good _Ge-Hyung_ and buy his dongsaeng the drink. ("Hyuuung," Sehun had whined, "you want me to be happy, right? Well, I think I'm going through withdrawals. I could _die_!" Jongin had rolled his eyes, but gladly accepted when Yixing's financial generosity and giving nature had naturally extended to include him.) That was when Sehun had discovered what Jongin liked to call his second life-changing experience: _the BTG_ (Bubble Tea Guy, as he'd been so dubbed by Jongin.)

Sure, it wasn't exactly a clever nickname, but the guy hadn't been wearing a name tag the first time they'd gone to the shop with Yixing, and during any subsequent visits Sehun was too distracted by anticipation for his drink to check for one. At least that's what he liked to tell himself. In reality, Jongin often thought that Sehun was too nervous to see the BTG's name because having a name would make the BTG a real person. By that logic, if the BTG was real that means Sehun's crush on him was real _too_ and _that_ , Jongin usually concluded, was too much for his seemingly-heterosexual friend to handle.

Today, though, was different. Jongin was usually stuck in class whenever Sehun decided to venture into _Just Sweet_ , but today his professor had cancelled at the last minute and Jongin was _free_. Sehun was too--like always--so the best friends went for bubble tea.

No one else was there when they walked in, except for the BTG and his cute coworker with heart shaped lips and the biggest eyes Jongin had seen probably _ever_. Sehun had always been a creature of habit, so he knew what he wanted and left Jongin to peruse the menu while he himself went to greet the other guy, calling him Kyungsoo and asking about some assignment from a shared class. Jongin, however, couldn't decide what he wanted--was it best to just go classic because caramel bubble tea sounded kind of _divine_ \--and he must have looked a little hopeless because he heard a cheerful "What can I help you with today?" He looked toward the BTG and automatically checked for a name, finding _Luhan_ written in pretty Hangul and worn on a tag that was pinned neatly to a bright pink apron. Sehun chose that moment to reappear and Jongin purposefully replied, "I don't know _Luhan_ , maybe you could offer me a suggestion...?"

Sehun might have been somewhat familiar with Kyungsoo, but he blanched at hearing the BTG's name and blurted out "Your name is Luhan? Why didn't you have a name tag on the first time we came?" before he could stop himself. His face, which had been so pale an instant ago, suddenly turned bright red and Jongin couldn't help but chuckle at his friend. Kyungsoo and Luhan were laughing too, but Jongin couldn't help noticing that the BTG was _also_ looking up at his friend through long lashes and blushing.

"I remember that actually," he said. "You came with Yixing, right?"

Sehun still seemed paralyzingly embarrassed so Jongin took the liberty of nodding in response for both of them.

"Mhmm," Luhan hummed in remembrance. "A mutual friend of mine and Yixing is a manager here and he chewed me out for not wearing it. That was right after you guys left actually."

"Good job, hyung," Kyungsoo said mockingly and Jongin found he quite liked the guy's voice.

The BTG shrugged, "That was, like, my second day of work or something; I forgot my name tag. Big deal!"

Sehun's mouth had dropped open when he heard that Yixing and Luhan knew each other--Sehun could have been drinking free bubble tea this whole time if he'd known that Yixing had _connections_. Jongin, however, was laughing again, both at his friend's idiocy and Luhan's forgetfulness.

They're perfect for each other, he thought with a smile. He happened, in that moment, to catch the eye of Kyungsoo, who smirked as if he could read Jongin's mind and agreed with him.

Luhan, on the other hand, was pouting. "You know," he said, turning away from Jongin to face Sehun directly, "you come in here _at least_ twice a week, but you've never actually spoken anything more than your order to me. And now you clearly know my name but I don't have yours." (This was very obviously Luhan's attempt to flirt with his friend and Jongin was pleased to see the BTG at least was comfortable enough in his sexuality to express an interest. Jongin also wondered how Sehun could be so clueless as to know Kyungsoo but never stop to ask for the name of his coworker.)

The BTG continued to pout prettily at Sehun, blinking his big doe eyes until Jongin finally had enough and said, "His name is Oh Sehun." Jongin should have stopped there but he temporarily placed his friend's love life above his own safety, and continued. "He's here as a rap major on scholarship; he likes the color black; he could happily live on bubble tea for the rest of his life; and he thinks you're cute but would never in a million years admit that to you, to himself, or to anyone really."

At that point, Jongin's latent sense of self-preservation kicked in and he swiftly grabbed his drink from the counter--he'd decided on caramel and had ordered from Kyungsoo while his friend and Luhan had been ogling each other--leaving Sehun to deal with the unavoidable awkwardness Jongin was sure to follow. (Thoughtfully, because Jongin was nothing if not conscientious, he left Sehun the bill _too_.)

Sehun was still standing gaping after his friend when he heard Luhan's giggle.

"Oh, I like him," the BTG said, winking at Sehun and causing Kyungsoo to nod in agreement. "He's very _informative_. And if it helps, Oh Sehun," Luhan said, causing Sehun to shiver involuntarily at the way his name rolled effortlessly off of Luhan's lips, "I think you're cute too."

He winked again. " _Sexy_ even."

Sehun could only grab his drink from Kyungsoo and throw a ten on the counter, muttering a quick "Keep the change" to Luhan before running out after Jongin, his face flaming.


	2. Green Tea w/Pudding and Topped with Coconut Whipped Cream

If anyone asked, Oh Sehun would say that the reason he _stopped_ frequenting _Just Sweet_ was because he’d lost his taste for their bubble tea. _Not_ because the deer-like guy who worked there—who’s name Sehun now knew to be Luhan—had blatantly hit on him and called him sexy. And _definitely not_ because Jongin, Sehun’s sorry excuse for a best friend, had admitted to the BTG that Sehun thought he was cute but was too embarrassed to admit it.

(Sehun wondered if Jongin had a death wish because his friend was _clearly_ asking for it that day. Sehun might have been going to school for rap, but he was _also_ minoring in composition and could be _quite creative_ when the situation demanded it. He’d kicked his friend so hard that Jongin had complained he’d never be able to have kids. Sehun had retorted that Jongin was _gay_ and probably wouldn’t be fathering any biological children _anyway_.)

Jongin, on the other hand, just thought that Sehun was being a chicken. Unlike his best friend, Jongin was _more than willing_ to go back to _Just Sweet_ —especially since Jongin had somehow ended up with Kyungsoo’s number written on the side of his drink, despite leaving the shop in a total hurry. Alas, Sehun refused to accompany his friend when Kyungsoo texted asking Jongin to stop by sometime. (Kyungsoo had written, “ _Drinks on me? :*_ ” followed by a “# _^_^#_ ”, and Jongin thought it was so _adorable_ that he had just about passed out.) Sehun claimed that the bubble tea at _Just Sweet_ no longer appealed to him, but Jongin knew his friend was still embarrassed about the whole Luhan situation. On top of that, Sehun was likely wrestling with his sense of identity and seemed to be having a bit of a difficult time coming to terms with the fact that he was probably bi—or at the very least, gay for Luhan.

Which is why Jongin took it upon himself to intervene on Sehun’s behalf. _Again_. He’d annoyed Sehun until his friend had agreed to wingman for him under the condition that Jongin would _not_ be hanging out with Kyungsoo at the latter’s place of employment. Jongin felt he was well-equipped to handle Kyungsoo on his own, but he’d pretended otherwise for his friend’s sake. Kyungsoo, who wanted to see Luhan happy and for some reason seemed to like this mischievous side of Jongin, had agreed to participate in the Kim boy’s plan to push Sehun and Luhan together.

When the time for their date came, Jongin admitted that he’d offered to pick Kyungsoo up from work after his shift and Sehun was then so adamantly against accompanying them that Jongin had to _literally_ drag his friend to _Just Sweet_ by the ear. As he was being dragged against his will, it occurred to Sehun that today it was both the weekend and mid-morning, so the likelihood of Luha—err, of the bubble tea being delicious—was slim. With that thought, Sehun felt slightly better about third-wheeling on a Saturday morning when he’d much rather be sleeping in.

What Jongin and Kyungsoo knew—but Sehun didn’t—however, is that Luhan _loved_ the idea of Kyungsoo and Jongin together, and had practically _begged_ to cover for Kyungsoo today. Their manager, Yifan, had pointed out that _Just Sweet_ did actually have more than two employees, but Kyungsoo had quickly stepped in to accept Luhan’s offer, hinting to Yifan with his enormous eyes that there was a very good reason Luhan _had_ to be working today.

As the two best friends approached the bubble tea shop, Sehun couldn’t help but surreptitiously check his surroundings for the presence of the BTG, sighing with relief when Luhan was nowhere to be found. Jongin, who saw everything when it came to Sehun, noticed his friend’s actions and had to pinch himself to keep from grinning at what was soon to come. Sehun, who knew Jongin pretty well _too_ , saw his friend’s smile despite Jongin’s attempt to hide it, but attributed the mini-dimples and the ascending cheekbones to excitement at going out with Kyungsoo and remained none the wiser.

They came to the front door and Sehun stopped short. “I thought we’d be meeting Kyungsoo at the employee’s entrance?” he asked Jongin with a little trepidation. He’d known Jongin long enough to realize something wasn’t right and Sehun was starting to wonder what exactly he’d gotten himself into.

“Uh,” Jongin stuttered out, trying to come up with a reason to get Sehun inside. “Well, you know he said he’d make me bubble tea. Kyungsoo-ssi suggested we get drinks here and go hang out in the park to save money.”

Sehun was still skeptical, but had to agree that, as struggling college students on scholarship, he and Jongin could definitely do with saving money. He’d planned to make Jongin buy him something wherever they ended up going—as compensation for his services—but figured a drink courtesy of Kyungsoo worked just as well.

He instantly regretted his decision to enter _Just Sweet_ , however, when he was greeted with an “Our Sehunnie! You’ve come back to me!” as soon as he walked in. Sehun could hear Jongin laughing at him, but he couldn’t help that the tips of his ears turned pink, or that his fight-or flight instinct kicked in, causing him to turn back toward the door and try to flee from the BTG.

“Nuh-uh,” Jongin said, like the devil Sehun _knew_ he was, “You’re not going anywhere.”

Sehun could only groan in protest, but allowed himself to be turned to face Luhan, even letting his friend press him down into a polite bow of greeting toward the older BTG.

“Uh, yeah,” Sehun managed to get out, scratching the back of his neck in a futile attempt to hide his embarrassment at seeing Luhan again. “You’re a dick,” he whispered to Jongin under his breath; but his best friend only grinned wider and went to say hello to his date.

“It’s been a while, Sehunnie,” Luhan said with a pout.

“Uh, yeah,” Sehun said again, cursing his apparent inability to communicate where Luhan was concerned. “I don’t really like the bubble tea here anymore.”

Luhan gasped like Sehun’s words were a personal insult, and said quickly, “Bubble tea is _always_ delicious! How could you say that?!”

Sehun, who’d never actually verbally admitted his cover story for his sudden absence from _Just Sweet_ , was actually just as appalled as Luhan. To save face, however, he maintained an expression of detached distaste, to which Luhan responded with, “What about trying something else then?”

 _Huh_ , Sehun thought. I’m here, so I might as well, I guess.

“Uh, sure,” he replied.

“How about this,” Luhan said with a slight smirk, “I’ll make you something and you’ll just have to be pleasantly surprised by my genius, okay?”

Sehun found himself nodding before he could stop himself, unable to halt the thought that Luhan would probably be appealing even without being a self-proclaimed bubble tea genius. (Because, _fine_ , yes; Sehun could admit that Luhan was attractive, and cute, and cheerful, and adorable, and kind of funny, and sweet too—according to Kyungsoo via Jongin. Objectively speaking, of course.)

“This is a green tea with pudding and topped with coconut whipped cream,” Luhan explained as he handed Sehun his finished drink, making sure to brush their fingers together in the process. “It’s on me,” he said, “so enjoy.” He winked at Sehun as he said this, causing the younger boy to wonder if Luhan ever operated in anything _other than_ full-on flirt mode.

Five turned to fifty minutes later, and Sehun tried telling himself that the reason he didn’t leave _Just Sweet_ was because he felt indebted to Luhan for buying his drink. But when he finally stopped conversing with the BTG to look around for Jongin, Sehun found that his friend and his date were nowhere to be found. At that point, Sehun thought he should probably stop denying what Jongin had said all along: the Sehun liked _liked_ Luhan.

Sometime during their extended conversation, Sehun had finished his drink and Luhan had thoughtfully made him another one—this time it was Sehun’s usual order of an original bubble tea—and delivered it with a smirk but no comment. When Luhan somehow managed to get whipped cream on his nose while preparing something for another customer, Sehun couldn’t help reaching out to wipe it off, reflexively licking his thumb afterward.

This time, Luhan was flustered by Sehun, and the BTG squeaked in surprise at the feel of Sehun’s touch on his face. Sehun chuckled, finding he quite liked his ability to make Luhan react like that.

Yifan eventually appeared some time after noon, and he grumbled about “distracted employees” until Sehun felt too guilty to stay.

“I should, uh, go,” he said to Luhan, trying and failing not to cower under Yifan’s glare.

“Aw,” Luhan said, pouting again. “But you just got here!”

Sehun blushed and Luhan reached out to pinch his cheeks. “Aigoo! So cute!”

“I think so too,” Sehun admitted. He was trying to get past his own embarrassment to admit for himself the secret that Jongin had so _rudely_ shared the last time.

Luhan giggled and Sehun sputtered out, “I mean, you! Cute! I think, You!” Luhan continued giggling and Sehun just groaned, rushing out of _Just Sweet_ to hide his embarrassment.

“Come back soon!” Luhan called out to him as he left.

(“Why,” Sehun asked Jongin later, “ _Why_ does this _always_ happen to _me_?”)


	3. Lemon Slushy w/Bubbles

If anyone asked, Oh Sehun would say that the reason he keeps going back to _Just Sweet_ is because of his recent discovery of their green tea. _Not_ because he was now kind of coming to terms with his crush on Luhan, the still cute, deer-like _guy_ who worked there. And _not at all_ because he liked the way Luhan's attention was _always_ focused solely on Sehun.

So really, if anyone asked, Sehun had no right to feeling upset or jealous when he went to _Just Sweet_ today and found Luhan joking and laughing with some guy. But he _was_ , and _that_ surprised him because usually Sehun was not at all the jealous boyfriend type.

If the guy were Jongin--who was not only Sehun's best friend, but was also so into Luhan's coworker that he was basically harmless--Sehun would have been worried about what secrets Jongin might be sharing with the BTG, but would generally be fine with it. If the guy were Kyungsoo--said coworker with whom Jongin was infatuated--or Yifan--the scary student manager of _Just Sweet_ \--Sehun would have been fine with that too.

But no. This guy was unfamiliar and _that_ Sehun had a problem with. He had no real claims on Luhan and Sehun hadn't realized how much that bothered him until today, when he couldn't do much more than glare at the intruder in silence. Before Luhan, Sehun hadn't really been the possessive type either, but it was taking _a lot_ of willpower for him not to go up and stake a claim on his man.

How can he do this? Sehun thought miserably. I _thought_ Luhan was interested in me.

Sehun sighed loudly in response to his own contemplations, catching Luhan's attention as a result.

"Hi Sehunnie!" the BTG said with a grin. Sehun smiled tentatively at Luhan in return, but mentally cursed Jongin when the next words out of Luhan's mouth were "I _mithed_ you!" (Sehun had a lisp when he was younger and Jongin must have shared that semi-embarrassing fact with the BTG during one of the times he came to see Kyungsoo.)

Luhan smiled brilliantly when Sehun started pouting and winked at him before commenting on Sehun's cuteness like he always did. With that, the other guy cleared his throat loudly at being ignored and Sehun was reminded of his anger, his pout turning into a frown.

"Lemon slushy with bubbles," Sehun ordered curtly. _To reflect my mood_ , he thought petulantly when Luhan looked a little confused at the abrupt turn of events and wanted to know why Sehun was ordering something other than the green tea or his usual.

"Um, okay," Luhan replied, eyebrows slightly furrowed and clearly still a little confused. "This is Tao, by the way," the BTG said to Sehun from over his shoulder as he turned to grab the ice from the freezer. "He's a freshman like you and he raps too."

"Sup?" the other guy said in greeting, a tongue stud flashing as he did so. In that moment, Sehun decided he hated Tao for being _exactly_ like him except _cooler_.

Sehun merely grunted in response, unwilling to open his own mouth and reveal a very obvious lack of any stupidly sexy piercings. He then moved toward the end of the order counter to wait for his drink in silence, glaring at Tao as he did so. 

You're acting like an _idiot_ , Sehun told himself silently, annoyed that Luhan's lack of attention was having such a great impact on his mood.

Sehun had already paid for his drink and was all prepared to leave in a huff once Luhan stopped being distracted by Tao's presence and finished making Sehun's drink. When Tao said, "Actually, Lu, I think I'm just going to go," and then said something else to the BTG in Mandarin, Sehun decided he didn't even want to wait for his _drink_ anymore, even thought he'd paid good money for it. (It wasn't fair! How was Sehun supposed to know that one day while trying to one-up a romantic rival he'd regret sleeping through high school Mandarin?)

Thankfully, Kyungsoo was there to stop Sehun from making a fool of himself in front of the entire population of _Just Sweet_. Just as the Oh boy was reaching for the door handle, he heard his name. "Sehun!" Kyungsoo shouted out, rushing toward him from where he'd been bussing tables."You weren't leaving, were you? Your drink isn't even finished yet!"

"Sehunnie?" Luhan called out to him, and Sehun didn't have to look to know the BTG was pouting. "You're leaving?"

_Kyungsoo_ , Sehun thought, I think I hate you almost as much as I hate Tao right now. Why are you doing this to me?!

It took Kyungsoo a few seconds to get over to where Sehun had paused in the doorway of _Just Sweet._ When he reached Sehun, Kyungsoo leaned over and whispered quietly, "Stop being jealous, Sehun. Tao is Luhan's _cousin_."

"And anyway," Sehun heard Tao say from behind him, " _Kris-ge_ is much more my type."

Yifan poked his head out of the back office, curious at the mention of his English name, while Sehun just slammed his forehead into the counter. _Repeatedly_.

"The world hates me," he muttered under his breath.

Jongin, who'd arrived some time during all the commotion, chuckled at his friend's misfortune and replied, "Maybe, but Luhan doesn't."

"I hate you" was Sehun's monotone response, his face pressed flat against the countertop.

Luhan chose that moment to come rushing over with Sehun's completed order, asking Jongin if _Our_ _Sehunnie_ had had a bad day or something because it wasn't like him to be so cold.

Jongin smirked and opened his mouth to deliver what was doubtless going to be a response of ultimate embarrassment for Sehun. Before he could, however, Sehun mumbled, "I thought...you and Tao...and then..."

"Huh?" Luhan asked, unable to really hear what Sehun was saying and totally confused by the little he could understand. "Tao?"

"Jealous!" Sehun shouted. Everyone else in _Just Sweet_ stopped what they were doing to look at Sehun with interest, only turning away when he blushed and started mumbling incoherently again.

"I was jealous," he continued. "Of you and Tao."

Luhan and Tao snorted simultaneously in disbelief. "Me and Tao?" the BTG said with a laugh. "But we're--"

"I know that _now_!" Sehun said indignantly. "But I didn't when I first came in and you two were talking and laughing like no one else existed." If it was possible his blush deepened even more. "I wanted that to be _me_ ," he said shyly.

" _Pabo_ ," Luhan giggled. "If you don't know by this point that I like Oh Sehun and _only_ Oh Sehun, then I must be doing something wrong."

Luhan winked at Sehun--his favorite past time--and then said, "You're it for me, baby."

Before he could stop them and of their own volition, Sehun's eyes disappeared into half moons at the nickname, showing that he was clearly pleased even when he was trying really hard not to be.

"Baby. Right," he managed to say through his Luhan-induced haze.

"Yep. Baby. That's what I'm going to call you now, Sehunnie." Luhan decided. "Is that okay? Do you like it?" he asked tentatively, worried when Sehun still didn't emerge from his dazed state.

I like _you_ , Sehun thought.

Except he must have said it out loud because the next thing Sehun knew, Luhan's lips were on his cheek and the brief kiss was followed by a whisper of "Good. I like you too," by Sehun's ear.

Recently, Sehun had promised himself that he would stop running out of _Just Sweet_ like a maniac every time he got embarrassed or Luhan did something particularly adorable. Today, though, Sehun decided to give himself a much needed break; the last thing he heard as he ran out the door was Jongin's voice saying, "It's okay, Sehun. You can always start being normal tomorrow."


	4. Strawberry Almond Milk Tea w/Chocolate Pearls

If anyone asked, Oh Sehun would say that the reason he’d accepted Yifan’s offer of a job at _Just Sweet_ was not because of the employee benefits—although, free bubble tea, what? And _not_ because he was still a scholarship student—despite spending money on the Chinese drink like a chaebol—and needed the money. It wasn’t even because Sehun concluded that working at _Just Sweet_ would force him to stick around when embarrassed because it wasn’t like he could just up and run out of his place of employment.

Actually, Sehun would say that he worked at _Just Sweet_ because the cute, deer-like guy who’d attracted Sehun’s attention worked there too; and since he now knew definitively that Luhan liked him back, Sehun would happily have even worked overtime if that meant he’d get to see more of the BTG.

As it turns out, today was Sehun’s first day on the job, and Luhan was pretending to be a customer to teach him the ropes. Much to Sehun’s embarrassment, once he’d made and given Luhan his drink, Sehun said, “Thank you for your business;” but then he slipped, calling Luhan “BTG” in place of the usual “customer-nim” that _Just Sweet_ employees were supposed to use. Luhan almost choked on one of the chocolate pearls in his strawberry almond milk tea when Sehun felt the need to explain his and Jongin’s nickname.

“BTG stands for Bubble Tea Guy?” Luhan asked, thoroughly amused. “Really, that’s the best you could come up with?”

Sehun shrugged and blushed. “It was mostly Jongin’s idea,” he said defensively.

Luhan pouted at that, asking why Sehun hadn’t thought of one on his own—since he’d recently admitted he liked Luhan _tho much_. Sehun just shoved the BTG lightly in response and tried to inconspicuously cover the blush that had spread from his cheeks to his ears.

(His childhood lisp had a tendency to emerge from deep cover whenever Sehun was really excited about something, and the opportunity to work at _Just Sweet_ had definitely been exciting. Yifan had mentioned they were hiring and when he asked Sehun if he was interested in the job, Sehun had blurted out, “Of cour _th_! I like Luhan _tho much_! I mean, bubble tea!” Sehun thought himself lucky that he and Yifan were in the back office and Luhan wasn’t there, so he had only groaned when Yifan chuckled, ruffled the Oh boy’s hair, and said, “In that case, the job’s yours.” Unfortunately for Sehun, it looks like Yifan must have told _someone_ because now Luhan totally knew.)

“Aw,” Luhan cooed, “don’t worry, Sehunnie baby. I think it’s adorable.”

Sehun, who was becoming more confident in sharing his feelings after the shock treatment of his last few _Just Sweet_ visits, mumbled out, “I think _you’re_ adorable,” drawing a squeak of pleased surprise from Luhan.

“Oh Sehun just confessed to me!” Luhan shouted to the rest of the people in the bubble tea shop. Tao, who had pestered Yifan for tutoring help and was currently sitting in a corner booth with the _Just Sweet_ manager, cheered.

“Lu-ge,” Sehun hissed, “stop! I’m embarrassed to admit this, but it’s not like this is the first time I’ve said something finger-curling to you.” Sehun actually had quite the bad habit of being mushy where Luhan was concerned, and it constantly embarrassed him that Jongin and Luhan _constantly_ acted like he was doing something out of character. “And I’ve confessed before,” he added with a whisper.

“Well since I confessed _first_ ,” Luhan said petulantly, “let me bask in the fact that you’ve decided to finally share your feelings.” Sehun harrumphed but said nothing.

“Although,” added Luhan, “it’s not like you were doing a very good job of being subtle about it. I knew you liked me even before Jongin-ssi said anything.”

 _Oh god_ , Sehun thought to himself, lowering his head into his hands to hide his seemingly ever-present blush. “Was I really that obvious?” he asked.

“Yeah, baby, you were.” Luhan admitted with a giggle. “But it’s okay because I thought you were so cute every time you came in that I was just glad you were finally talking to me.”

Sehun was offended and tried to defend himself. “Hey!” he said, regretting the words even as they came out of his mouth, “I didn’t know your name.” (He could practically hear Jongin’s voice in the back of his mind saying, “That’s a lame excuse and you know it.”)

“Well now you do,” Luhan said, giggling at Sehun’s words but pleased that he’d won the argument. “I still can’t believe you called me BTG, though.” Luhan looked down as if reminded of something important and adjusted his name tag before glancing at Sehun to do the same for him. The BTG realized something ironic, however, and added, “You’ve forgotten your name tag, by the way.”

At Luhan’s words, Sehun found himself peering worriedly at Yifan, as if the manager had somehow heard Luhan from across the room and would shortly be coming over to give _Just Sweet’_ s newest employee a piece of his mind. Sehun quickly checked the counter, his bag, and the pocket of his apron, but the name tag was nowhere to be found.

Luhan was overly excited about the situation and said with added cheer, “Does this mean I get to give _you_ a nickname too?” (Sehun didn’t bother to point out that if Luhan didn’t think _Sehunnie_ or _Baby_ counted as nicknames then the BTG needed to get his intelligence checked.)

“Sure,” Sehun said, humoring him.

“Hmm,” Luhan hummed, looking deep in thought. Sehun suddenly had the surprising idea that he really wanted to kiss the BTG on the nose for being so _cute_ , and had to actively refrain from doing something that would so obviously out his growing Luhan-obsession.

“Uh-huh?” Sehun prompted, needing to say something—anything—to stop himself from attacking Luhan’s face with his lips. In reality, the two weren’t actually dating and had yet to even hold hands, so Sehun wasn’t quite sure _when_ he’d become such a _pyuntae_ , at least where Luhan was concerned.

“Well, I can’t exactly call you BTG, obviously.” Luhan said, thinking out loud. _Obviously,_ was Sehun’s thought in response.

“I know!” Luhan expressed triumphantly, excited again. “I’ll call you the BTGB!”

Sehun had been ready to agree with practically anything Luhan suggested, but this one just confused him. He considered a few options—Blonde, Tall, Good-looking Boy was his personal favorite—but soon gave up in defeat. “BTGB?” he asked. “Is that even short for something?”

Luhan’s giggle was practically infectious in that moment and Sehun was surprised to see that the BTG was blushing. “It’s not something embarrassing, is it?” Sehun asked, suddenly concerned that Luhan might have been spending a little too much time with Jongin. (He wasn’t sure, but Sehun thought he heard an “I hope not,” from Luhan in response.)

“Well,” Sehun said, prompting again.

“Well,” Luhan parroted back. “How does Bubble Tea Guy’s Boyfriend sound to you?”

To say Sehun wasn’t ready was an understatement. “Boyfriend?!” he managed with an accompanying “Eep!” of what Luhan _hoped_ was agreement.

Luhan, though, was more than ready for this moment—even going so far as to coerce Jongin into stealing Sehun’s name tag before the Oh boy had come in to work today. (He’d hinted that Kyungsoo was really looking forward to seeing Seoul English Theater’s midnight showing of _Singin’ in the Rain_. As a result, Luhan thought that Jongin, who was terrible at foreign languages but was willing to do almost anything for the large-eyed object of his affections, might consider _that_ the opportune moment for officially asking Kyungsoo out. After that golden nugget of information, Jongin had been _more than willing_ to help Luhan in any way possible.)

“Um, yeah?” Luhan questioned, suddenly shy.

Unfortunately, Sehun’s initial inability to communicate where Luhan was concerned decided to come back with a vengeance and Sehun’s mind just went _completely blank_.

He said nothing and Luhan was worried now. “Baby? Sehunnie?” he asked. “Please, say _something_ ,” Luhan begged.

“Do I like bubble tea?” was Sehun’s idiotic response.

Sehun mentally face palmed when Luhan looked a little confused and a lot hurt and said, “Um, yes?”

“Then of cour _th_ I’ll be the BTGB,” was Sehun’s self-redeeming—and adorable—response.

Happiness became impulsivity when Luhan couldn’t contain himself and kissed Sehun squarely on the lips. Sehun was vaguely aware of Yifan’s indignant “Yah! What do you think you’re doing in my shop?” but the BTG _B_ was too concerned with the fact that Luhan smelled like a heavenly mix of _strawberries, chocolate, and almonds_ to give his boss the attention Yifan probably deserved.

When Luhan pulled away, Sehun became aware of a heaviness on his chest. He looked down to see that his name tag had somehow appeared while he was kissing _his_ BTG and looked at his _boyfriend_ with ill-concealed suspicion. “Did you have something to do with this?” he asked Luhan, unsure whether to be more amused or annoyed.

“Yep!” Luhan responded, obviously quite pleased with himself. “It’s not like _you_ were going to make a move any time soon. And besides,” he added with a pout that Sehun desperately wanted to kiss away, “what if you decided you didn’t like me anymore?”

Sehun shook his head so vehemently in disagreement that he managed to temporarily give himself a headache. “I’d never!” was his response. “You taste too much like bubble tea.”


	5. Kumquat Thai Iced Tea Topped w/Lime Zest

If anyone asked, Oh Sehun would say that the reason he didn’t want to go into _Just Sweet_ for work today is because Yifan is intimidating on a _good day_ and Tao had been making all of Yifan’s days _bad_ recently. _Not_ because he had now been dating his cute, deer-like coworker for less than a week and had _already_ made Luhan mad at him—somehow.

And _not at all_ because he was afraid that Kyungsoo and Tao, his other coworkers, would take Luhan’s side in this whole situation and make Sehun the bad guy.

This afternoon, Sehun was wiping down a recently-vacated table when Luhan came in for his shift. In itself this occurrence was not unusual, for Sehun’s class schedule left him free earlier than his boyfriend. Since Sehun also had a club meeting twice a week in the evening but still wanted to see Luhan whenever he could, Sehun decided to work double on the days he had to come and leave early. What _was_ unusual, however, was that Luhan refused to even _look_ at Sehun when he entered the bubble tea shop, and Sehun didn’t know why.

The BTG had texted him that morning, but instead of the usual “Good Morning BTGB! <3,” the message was cursory and merely said, “Don’t talk to me today!” Sehun was _pretty sure_ he hadn’t done anything to make his boyfriend angry, but Jongin often said that Sehun had a special ability to be an idiot without realizing it.

That’s why Sehun hadn’t wanted to come in at all today. He’d even texted and asked Kyungsoo to take his shift, but the Do boy was going to see _Singin’ in the Rain_ that night and decided he needed to nap beforehand. When Sehun had threatened to quit, Kyungsoo had rolled his eyes at his phone and replied, “No one’s stopping you.”

(It had taken less than 30 seconds for Kyungsoo to feel bad about Sehun’s cluelessness, and he’d called Jongin, asking that he knock some sense into his best friend. Jongin had promptly appeared at the door of Sehun’s dorm, dragged his friend out by the ear, and followed him all the way to _Just Sweet_ to make sure he actually went to work. Thanks to Jongin, Sehun was even _early_. Yifan had been pleased, though also incredibly confused, by Sehun’s uncharacteristic show of responsibility, but when the manager had complimented him for it, Tao had actually _growled_ at Sehun. “Kris- _ge_ 's compliments are _mine_ ,” he’d said.)

So Sehun was at work; but now Luhan was there too. Sehun’s ear _still hurt_ from Jongin’s overeager grip earlier, and Tao, who Luhan was replacing, had been glaring daggers at Sehun all afternoon, despite Yifan’s attempt to appease the panda by agreeing to go shopping after both finished their shift. Truthfully, Sehun was just having a terrible day. 

“Talk to me, Lu,” he begged as Luhan joined him behind the counter after waving goodbye to his cousin and his manager.

Luhan bit his lip and Sehun hoped that was a sign of better things to come.

Unfortunately, Luhan’s resolve, which seemed to slip the longer he looked at his boyfriend’s adorable pout, was strengthened by the appearance of a customer at the order counter and the sudden clearing of said customer’s throat.

“Hi Jongin,” Luhan greeted cheerfully. Sehun couldn't help scoffing at the BTG’s quick change and wondered briefly if he was _for sure_ dating a guy because it seemed to him like Luhan was PMSing. (Sehun had it on good authority that PMSing women were often moody for no reason, but _usually_ were not pleased on being called out for it. He’d grown up the youngest—and only—brother of four older sisters, so he was basically a walking encyclopedia on females. Come to think of it, maybe that’s why he’d ended up with a boyfriend instead of a girlfriend when he’d finally decided to start dating. _Huh_.)

In response to his boyfriend’s outburst, Luhan briefly glanced over at Sehun, biting his lip again. _I swear_ , Sehun thought with an internal groan, this needs to stop.

(Sehun _wasn’t_ referring to the silent treatment.)

“Luhannie,” said Jongin, matching Luhan’s cheer with his own and giving the BTG a personalized nickname that got Sehun’s blood boiling. Unable to take the fact that Luhan was speaking to Sehun’s idiot of a best friend, but not to Sehun himself, the BTG’s boyfriend stepped away from the counter and disappeared into the back room, muttering some excuse about “We need more coffee” under his breath as he left.

Luhan sighed loudly and Jongin tried telling himself he didn’t care, but his curiosity quickly got the better of him. “What’s wrong, _hyung_?” he asked as gently as he could.

“We’ve been dating for _four_ days, Jongin,” Luhan replied.

Sehun’s best friend was confused by Luhan's repeated use of his full name today—the BTG usually called him Jonginnie as payback for Luhannie—but was even less understanding as to why Luhan would say four days like it was a bad thing. “Isn’t that good?” Jongin asked. He continued, “I mean, it’s almost five, which is _basically_ seven, which is a whole week, right?”

Luhan giggled at Jongin’s _math_ , but quickly lost his smile when Sehun reemerged from the back, lugging a bag of coffee beans behind him. “Four sounds like _death_ ,” he whispered to Jongin, who nodded like he understood, despite being even more confused than when he started.

I don’t know what that means! Jongin thought, but said nothing more to Sehun’s boyfriend other than a quick “Thanks” when Luhan finished placing the lime zest on Jongin’s kumquat Thai iced tea and handed him the drink.

Jongin moved to a table near the center of _Just Sweet_ , and watched for nearly half an hour as Luhan and Sehun worked together to serve customers, make drinks and keep the shop running, all without uttering a single word to one another. Well, that’s not _strictly_ accurate because Sehun had tried to talk to his boyfriend as soon as Jongin walked away. Luhan, though, was having none of it, and Sehun had given up after a while, resigned to spending his entire shift with Luhan in silence.

Tao and Yifan returned sometime during those thirty or so minutes, joining Jongin at his table after dropping some shopping bags in the back. Thankfully, Tao was smiling again; he was richer—in Gucci, at least--while Yifan was also smiling, but also decidedly _less_ rich.

“Where’s your better half?” Yifan asked, wondering about Kyungsoo’s whereabouts since he and Jongin were usually attached at the hip.

Jongin blushed brightly, and Tao said earnestly, “Omo, Jongin! Your blush is so _sexy_ with your dark skin; I see why Kyungsoo- _ge_ likes you!” The panda discreetly glanced at Yifan as he said this, and was pleased to see the student manager’s expression noticeably darken.

Afraid for his _life_ , Jongin ignored Tao’s words. He was about to respond to Yifan’s earlier query, but was temporarily distracted by Luhan brushing off Sehun yet again. _Ouch_ , Jongin thought, that’s a pretty harsh way to treat your boyfriend, especially after pursuing him so actively and being so interested less than a day ago.

Both of Jongin’s table mates noticed his lack of attention and followed his gaze to a depressed Sehun and a harassed-looked Luhan.

“What’s up with Hunhan?” Yifan wanted to know, looking to Jongin as if Sehun’s best friend could give him the answer he was looking for.

All three were startled by an abrupt giggle from the two guys seated at the table next to theirs, and Tao turned around in his chair to glare at the cause of the interruption.

“Sorry, sorry,” the one Jongin assumed was the giggler said.

“What he said!” the other one quickly apologized. “Baek was just overly excited about Galaxy- _hyung_ calling our favorite bubble tea couple Hunhan becau—”

_Baek_ interrupted him but the other guy didn’t seem to mind too much. “Because that’s what Yeollie and I call them!” He looked at his friend and the two seemed to come to an unspoken agreement because both grabbed their drink, got up suddenly from their table and filled in the remaining seats at Jongin’s.

“Yah!” Tao said, glaring at the two intruders and moving closer to Yifan, who had been more than pleased at being called Galaxy- _hyung_ —it meant his reputation preceded him. Jongin didn’t really mind though, and giggled at the thought of Sehun and the BTG having actual _fans_.

“I’m Jongin,” he said, “Sehun’s my best friend. And this is Tao and Yifan,” Jongin introduced his companions.

The one that _Baek_ had called _Yeollie_ bounced once in his seat from excitement and said creepily, “We know who you are.”

_Baek_ nodded in agreement. “You two especially,” he said, pointing at Tao and Yifan. “We’re just waiting for you to get together too because Yeollie has the best couple name picked out for you. Don’t you, baby?” _Baek_ asked.

“Yep!” _Yeollie_ replied. “By the way,” he said, as if suddenly remembering something important, "My name is Chanyeol. This is Baekhyun. But you can call us Baekyeol if you want."

Chanyeol gestured between the two of them. "Since we're boyfriends," he said with a grin.

(Yifan was too overwhelmed by Chanyeol's _everything_ to realize that he and Baekhyun had basically just said that Tao and Yifan should date. The _Just Sweet_ manager hadn't really thought much about his feelings for the panda until Tao had started working at the bubble tea shop. Now, Yifan felt constantly overwhelmed by his crush on Tao, and had to keep reminding himself that Tao only thought of him as an older brother with a bottomless wallet. Unfortunately.)

"Back to the matter at hand though," Baekhyun said, seemingly tired of the time it was taking Chanyeol and Jongin to introduce everyone.

"Yeah?" Jongin said questioningly. He looked back to where Luhan and Sehun were working, but only saw the original BTG. (Sehun had gone back to the storage room for _more_ coffee.)

"Well?" Baekhyun prompted, tapping his foot against the table leg in impatience. Tao and Yifan sent him matching glares, and Chanyeol reacted by placing an arm around his boyfriend's shoulders protectively. "Tell us what you know!" Baekhyun continued, foot still tapping.

Jongin sighed. "It's not as much as I'd like," he said apologetically. "All I know is that Luhan- _hyung_ texted this morning and told Sehun not to talk to him today. But when I asked Luhannie what was wrong, he just said something weird about four days and death." Jongin scratched the back of his neck, clearly puzzled. "I don't even know."

"Four and death, you said?" Tao asked curiously, exchanging a glance with Yifan. Jongin hummed in affirmation.

"Ah!" Baekhyun and Chanyeol said at the same. They seemed to come to another agreement and Chanyeol turned to Tao.

"You're his cousin," he said.

"Uh, yeah?" Tao answered.

Chanyeol nodded sagely, asking "Is Luhan very superstitious?"

"He is!" Tao shouted in response just as Sehun started making his way over to clean Baekyeol's now empty table. "I knew it!"

Sehun looked at the group curiously, his eyes falling particularly on the two people he didn't know.

"Baekyeol at your service!" Chanyeol said, making his introductions for the second time.

Baekhyun, on the other hand, looked a bit star-struck, and he squeaked out, "Oh Sehun! Yeollie and I are _huge_ fans of your work!"

Jongin snorted loudly at Sehun's response of "Huh?" but soon mellowed enough to share with his friend the good news.

"These guys are _basically_ love doctors," Jongin said convincingly, "and they think they know what's wrong with Luhannie- _hyung_."

Sehun didn't know these two customers from Adam, but he did know and wholeheartedly trust Jongin. "Fine," he sighed out. "At this point I could use all the help I can get."

Tao was annoyed. "Yah!" He said angrily. "You could have just asked me. I'm his cousin and I know everything there is to know about the guy."

"Okay then," Jongin responded. "I amend my earlier statement. All three are love doctors and Tao _especially_ knows how to help you out. Better?" He asked, looking over at Tao, who nodded happily.

Sehun looked at Jongin and the three so-called love doctors expectantly. "So," he asked, "what do I do?"

"Absolutely nothing," was Chanyeol's response.

"Literally," Baekhyun added.

Sehun seemed confused to Tao decided to step in. "Look," he said in explanation, "my cousin is _highly_ superstitious. Back home, four is bad luck because the word for it in Mandarin sounds too much like the word for death."

_Oh_ , Jongin thought sympathetically, I get it now. My poor Sehun!

"Wait," Sehun stopped Tao from finishing his explanation, and Yifan glared subtly at him for it. "You're telling me that Luhan isn't mad at all, he's just superstitious enough to think that the number 4 is bad luck?"

Tao nodded and Sehun rolled his eyes.

"So what," Sehun continued, half-jokingly, "Luhan doesn't want us to interact on our fourth day of dating because he thinks it'll curse us our something?" He laughed, but Tao nodded again, more gravely this time.

"That's absurd!" Jongin practically shouted. "It sucks too," he said, turning to Sehun, "because it's not like you can apologize or something since he isn't actually mad."

"Way to point out the obvious," Baekhyun responded sarcastically.

"Shut up," Jongin muttered, offended that the newcomer had no problem poking fun at Jongin and his friends. _Rude_ , he thought, vaguely aggravated.

Sehun, who had long drowned everyone out and was simply staring at his boufriend as Luhan worked the counter, keyed back into the conversation, suddenly desperate. "But what do I _do_ , though?" he asked in exasperation.

"We told you!" Baekyeol and Tao said at the same time.

Even Yifan knew the answer to this one. "Nothing," he said evenly, secretly proud to finally contribute to the conversation, kind of impress Tao, and hopefully live up to his Galaxy- _hyung_ reputation.

"But I miss him," Sehun pouted cutely.

"Aw, you poor baby," Baekhyun said with genuine sympathy, taking pity on the maknae of the group. "You'll just have to wait until tomorrow. That's only," he grabbed his boyfriend's wrist to check Chanyeol's watch before finishing, "Nine hours away!"

Sehun spirits lifted a little, but he continued to pour because it makes him feel better, _okay_?

"Look on the bright side, Sehun" Tao suggested to his coworker. "Today might suck because it's your fourth day and bad luck and all, but pretty soon it will be Day 8. So look forward to that!"

"Why? What happens then?" Sehun asked, confused. Tao said nothing, so Sehun looked at Chanyeol and Baekhyun. The couple waggled their eyebrows suggestively, but remained mute.

* * *

Nine hours later, at exactly 12:01 AM on the start of their _fifth_ day, Sehun texted Luhan.

"I missed you today," the message read.

"I know," Luhan responded, instantly. "I know because I missed you too. And I'm sorry," the BTG apologized to his boyfriend.

Sehun told himself he'd forgive Luhan if his boyfriend would tell him the secret of Day 8. When he texted and asked Luhan, however, all his boyfriend said was "Luck. The _good_ kind." 


End file.
